AIAA LA-LV September Dinner Meeting

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The Case for SpacewithDr. Robert Zubrin

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The Topic

The Case for SpacewithDr. Robert Zubrin

(Cited from Amazon.com)A noted space expert explains the current revolution in spaceflight, where it leads, and why we need it. A new space race has begun. But the rivals in this case are not superpowers but competing entrepreneurs. These daring pioneers are creating a revolution in spaceflight that promises to transform the near future. Astronautical engineer Robert Zubrin spells out the potential of these new developments in an engrossing narrative that is visionary yet grounded by a deep understanding of the practical challenges. Fueled by the combined expertise of the old aerospace industry and the talents of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, spaceflight is becoming cheaper. The new generation of space explorers has already achieved a major breakthrough by creating reusable rockets. Zubrin foresees more rapid innovation, including global travel from any point on Earth to another in an hour or less; orbital hotels; moon bases with incredible space observatories; human settlements on Mars, the asteroids, and the moons of the outer planets; and then, breaking all limits, pushing onward to the stars. Zubrin shows how projects that sound like science fiction can actually become reality. But beyond the how, he makes an even more compelling case for why we need to do this--to increase our knowledge of the universe, to make unforeseen discoveries on new frontiers, to harness the natural resources of other planets, to safeguard Earth from stray asteroids, to ensure the future of humanity by expanding beyond its home base, and to protect us from being catastrophically set against each other by the false belief that there isn't enough for all.

The Speaker

Dr. Robert ZubrinPresident and Founder of the Mars SocietyAIAA Distinguished Lecturer

Robert Zubrin, formerly a Staff Engineer at Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver is now president of his own company, Pioneer Astronautics. He holds Masters degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Washington. He is the inventor of several unique concepts for space propulsion and exploration, the author of over 200 published technical and non-technical papers in the field, as well the non-fiction books "The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must" (Simon and Schuster 1996), “Entering Space” (Tarcher Putnam 1999), “Mars on Earth” (Tarcher Penguin 2003) and “Energy Victory” (Prometheus Books, 2007), "Merchants of Despair" (Encounter Books, 2012), the novels “The Holy Land,” (Polaris Books, 2003) and “First Landing,” (Ace 2001), the science-humor immigrant guidebook, “How to Live on Mars” (Three Rivers Press, 2008), and most recently "The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility" (Prometheus Books, 2019). He is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and former Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Space Society. Most recently, he founded the Mars Society; an international organization dedicated to furthering the exploration and settlement of Mars by both public and private means. In that capacity, he personally led the construction and operation of a human Mars exploration training station on Devon Island, an uninhabited island in the Canadian Arctic 900 miles from the North Pole. Prior to his work in astronautics, Dr. Zubrin was employed in areas of thermonuclear fusion research, nuclear engineering, radiation protection, and as a high school science teacher.